A pleasant surprise, Bad Words, Jason Batemans directorial debut is not gettin much hype from the press. the premise doesnt sound too interesting, a grown man crashes the national spelling bee and has no big name stars to speak of. So i went in with low expectations. Its a comedy, a dark dark comedy. I would reccomend it, as good as any movie i have seen in the last year. The only problem i had was, people laughing so loud that you miss what was probably some pretty funny stuff
and now for a completely different opinion from a uptight critic, who are typically afraid to admit anything could possible be funny [and worthwhile]
[h=1]Movie review: Bad Words marks triumph of the miserable jerk[/h] [h=2]Jason Batema, Kathryn Hahn star in dark comedy[/h] <figure>
<figcaption> Jason Bateman stars and directs the comedy Bad Words Photo: Focus Features
</figcaption> </figure>
Jay StonePublished: March 28, 2014, 1:47 am
Updated: 2 days ago
A A A
Bad Words
Rating: 2½ stars out of 5
Starring: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand
Directed by: Jason Bateman
Running time: 88 minutes
Jason Bateman has made a good living playing laid-back characters whose matter-of-fact likability hides a vein of eccentricity. In the dark comedy Bad Words, which also marks his feature film directorial debut, he plays something different: a miserable jerk. Being Bateman, however, he’s a pretty likable jerk.
This odd combination — the laid-back misanthrope — makes Bad Words an exercise is dark futility. It wants to be politically incorrect, and indeed there are many rants against women, insults to visible minorities, and general verbal mayhem. But you get the sense the movie never means it: this a Hollywood lesson in redemption and the meaning of friendship, all dressed up as a subversive twist on that mythic mini-genre, the spelling bee movie.
Bateman plays Guy Trilby, which sounds like a haberdashery. He’s 40, but he’s discovered a loophole in the Golden Quill spelling bee contest that lets him compete against 10-year-olds. There’s a reason he wants to do this — you know from the beginning that he has an ulterior motive because, in voice-over, Guy says, “I’m not that good at a lot of stuff, especially thinking things through” — and it’s the film’s special secret, the surprise twist that softens Guy and makes him a bit sympathetic.
That’s fine for Guy, but it’s a long haul to find softness and sympathy, and you wonder why it had to be such a secret throughout the film.
Rohan Chand, left, and Jason Bateman
Guy is accompanied at the tournament by Jenny (Kathryn Hahn), an online journalist trying to uncover the mystery of his past (she learns his favourite drink is Wild Turkey, his favourite colour is olive green and his favourite breast size is 32A, which tells you little about Guy Trilby but lots about online journalism). She’s also his sometimes lover, and her erotic cries of “don’t look at me” are part of the renegade spirit of the early part of the film.
In his calm and infuriating way, Guy rides roughshod over the objections of the contest organizers (Allison Janney and Philip Baker Hall, each playing a single note — exasperation), insults the angry parents of the younger contestants, and sabotages the kids who sit near him. At one stage, he persuades a rival that he is sleeping with the boy’s mother, a bit of news that undermines the kid’s confidence. It’s a miserable thing to do, but you’re prompted to forgive it because Bateman is such a charming idiot.
Guy’s main competition comes from Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), a 10-year-old with the kind of chipper personality that evokes the high-spirited children of earlier, less sophisticated cinema. Chaitanya and Guy eventually bond, but since it’s over underage drinking, petty theft and a pre-pubescent obsession with women’s nipples, it gives the movie a rough edge that allow for a few transgressive laughs. A scene where Guy insults the mother of another contestant — the foul words form a comic clash with Bateman’s innocent, all-American face — is likewise funny in a terrible way.
However, there’s a limit to the humour to be found in swearing in front of children, and the amusement inherent in the kid who says the F-word — or in the ability of our anti-hero to spell another F-word, “floccinaucinihilipilification” — has diminishing returns. The word, by the way, means the act of estimating something as worthless. Bad Words is better than that, but it’s not as good as it could have been.
[h=1]Movie review: Bad Words marks triumph of the miserable jerk[/h] [h=2]Jason Batema, Kathryn Hahn star in dark comedy[/h] <figure>
<figcaption> Jason Bateman stars and directs the comedy Bad Words Photo: Focus Features
</figcaption> </figure>
Jay StonePublished: March 28, 2014, 1:47 amUpdated: 2 days ago
A A A
Bad Words
Rating: 2½ stars out of 5
Starring: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand
Directed by: Jason Bateman
Running time: 88 minutes
Jason Bateman has made a good living playing laid-back characters whose matter-of-fact likability hides a vein of eccentricity. In the dark comedy Bad Words, which also marks his feature film directorial debut, he plays something different: a miserable jerk. Being Bateman, however, he’s a pretty likable jerk.
This odd combination — the laid-back misanthrope — makes Bad Words an exercise is dark futility. It wants to be politically incorrect, and indeed there are many rants against women, insults to visible minorities, and general verbal mayhem. But you get the sense the movie never means it: this a Hollywood lesson in redemption and the meaning of friendship, all dressed up as a subversive twist on that mythic mini-genre, the spelling bee movie.
Bateman plays Guy Trilby, which sounds like a haberdashery. He’s 40, but he’s discovered a loophole in the Golden Quill spelling bee contest that lets him compete against 10-year-olds. There’s a reason he wants to do this — you know from the beginning that he has an ulterior motive because, in voice-over, Guy says, “I’m not that good at a lot of stuff, especially thinking things through” — and it’s the film’s special secret, the surprise twist that softens Guy and makes him a bit sympathetic.
That’s fine for Guy, but it’s a long haul to find softness and sympathy, and you wonder why it had to be such a secret throughout the film.
Rohan Chand, left, and Jason BatemanGuy is accompanied at the tournament by Jenny (Kathryn Hahn), an online journalist trying to uncover the mystery of his past (she learns his favourite drink is Wild Turkey, his favourite colour is olive green and his favourite breast size is 32A, which tells you little about Guy Trilby but lots about online journalism). She’s also his sometimes lover, and her erotic cries of “don’t look at me” are part of the renegade spirit of the early part of the film.
In his calm and infuriating way, Guy rides roughshod over the objections of the contest organizers (Allison Janney and Philip Baker Hall, each playing a single note — exasperation), insults the angry parents of the younger contestants, and sabotages the kids who sit near him. At one stage, he persuades a rival that he is sleeping with the boy’s mother, a bit of news that undermines the kid’s confidence. It’s a miserable thing to do, but you’re prompted to forgive it because Bateman is such a charming idiot.
Guy’s main competition comes from Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), a 10-year-old with the kind of chipper personality that evokes the high-spirited children of earlier, less sophisticated cinema. Chaitanya and Guy eventually bond, but since it’s over underage drinking, petty theft and a pre-pubescent obsession with women’s nipples, it gives the movie a rough edge that allow for a few transgressive laughs. A scene where Guy insults the mother of another contestant — the foul words form a comic clash with Bateman’s innocent, all-American face — is likewise funny in a terrible way.
However, there’s a limit to the humour to be found in swearing in front of children, and the amusement inherent in the kid who says the F-word — or in the ability of our anti-hero to spell another F-word, “floccinaucinihilipilification” — has diminishing returns. The word, by the way, means the act of estimating something as worthless. Bad Words is better than that, but it’s not as good as it could have been.
